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TOP 10 ENGLAND-BASED PLAYERS OF THE 2015/16 SEASON

The 2015/16 English football season has been concluded and a lot of "it has happened it has happened" has happened. The community shield match between Arsenal and Chelsea kick-started the season and it was a tensed match—a match i finished watching and said: something is wrong with Chelsea.
The season has ended with Manchester United FA Cup triumph over Allan Pardew-led Crystal Palace.
Kolade Chris, a member of the Whistle Sports Group (WSG), Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo state Nigeria takes a look at [his] the top 10 England-based players of the 2015/16 season.

10. DIMITRI PAYET
The 29 year-old Frenchman joined West Ham from Olimpique Marseile on 26th June 2016, signing a five year deal with an extra 12 months option. His attacking and piece-taking prowess has established him as a regular in the Hammers squad so far; registering a total of 9 goals, 12 assists, 81% pass completion and 1003 total chances created.

9. WILLIAN
Fully known as Willian Borges Da Silva. The "sharp-legged"  Brazilian moved to Chelsea from Anzi Makachkhala in the summer of 2014 after an alleged clear-out by the owner of the Russian club.
If not for Willian's improved playing style and hardwork in the just concluded season, "Worst" would have been too little to describe Chelsea's "season to forget".
The Brazillian scored more free-kicks than Christiano Ronaldo in the just concluded season, averaging 5 goals in the UEFA Champions League, 5 in the Barclays Premier league too.

8. ALEXIS SANCHEZ
Born on 19th December 1988 in Tocopilla, Chile, Alexis signed for Arsenal after an unsatisfactory spell at Barca for an undisclosed fee believed to be around €35m. Alexis was arguably the best signing of the 2014/15 season after a brilliant debut season at the North London club [Arsenal].
He started the 2015/16 season on a low but during April 2016, Sanchez scored in four consecutive league matches, with goals against Watford, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and a brace against West Brom.
In the just concluded [2015/16] EPL season, Alexis scored a total of 13 goals and four assists.


7. ANTHONY MARTIAL
When i heard Manchester United signed a player named "Martial" in the beginning of the season, i asked myself "has Manchester United decided to get back to their glorious days by fighting Kung Fu on a football pitch?"
Martial is the best signing of the just concluded season for me.
The pacey, strong, versatile and quiet Frenchman moved to Manchester United from AS Monaco last summer; had a memorable debut against Liverpool and added quality to United's attack.
He had 11 league goals and registered dribbles than Eden Hazard in the 2015/16 season.

6. SERGIO AGUERO
In 2006, Aguero moved to Europe to play for Atletico Madrid with his Argentine club—Independiente—accepting a fee of €23 million. After establishing himself in European football, the agile striker moved to Manchester City in 2011 for a fee in the region of £35 million. Aguero has had a successful career in England so far and had 24 premier league goals in the just concluded season.

5. DELE ALI
Fully known as Bamidele Jermaine Ali, the 20 year-old Englishman [of Nigerian descent] was born in Milton Keynes to a Nigerian father and English mother on 11th April 1996.
He started his career with MK Dons at age 11 and was bought by Tothenham Hotspurs in february 2015 for an initial fee of £5 million.
Dele Ali won the 2015/16 PFA Young player of the year at the expense of Kelechi Ihenacho, Anthony Martial and Marcus  Rashford after scoring 10 goals and assisting 11 in his debut English Premier League season—an achievement i myself described as more than just remarkable.
BBC Sport pundit and former Spurs player Garth Crooks wrote: "Well, i've seen some glorious goals scored in my time watching football matches but I doubt whether I will see a goal scored with such individual flair, and by a 19 year-old, as Dele Alli's goal at Selhurst Park it was sheer class"
Dele is a promising young talent with a bright future ahead. I really hope he would not regret choosing to play for England at the expense of his home country—Nigeria—because we all know what happened to Gabby Agbonlahor, John Fashanu, Ehiogu and the likes.

4. MESUT OZIL
The dull-eyed German [of Turkish descent]  looks like a kid who cannot get a little cracker eaten but has the distinguished ability to destroy  any team with his unselfish play style.
Ozil became Arsenal's record-signing in 2013 with a fee around £42.5 million and proved his worth by helping Arsenal to a two consecutive FA Cup triumph in 2014 and 2015.
Ozil contributed a lot to Arsenal's Premier League season by registering 18 assists in the just concluded season; 1 behind Henry's all time 20 and equalling Fabregas's 19 in the 2014/15 season.

3. HARRY KANE
If i do not talk about Harry Kane's brilliance in the just concluded season then what would i talk about? The 22 year old England-international had a shot accuracy of 63% in the 2015/16 season and that was the determining factor behind his 25 Premier league goals in the recently concluded season. Harry Kane would arguably be England's first choice striker in the forthcoming EURO 2016 competition in France.

2. JAMIE VARDY
The Englishman suprised us all by breaking Ruud Van Nistelroy's record of ten consecutive Barclays Premier League matches goals, scoring consecutively in eleven.
Born on January 1 1987, Jamie Vardy is definitely that striker you never want to take for levity in the air nor on the ground.
In the 2015/16 Barclays Premier League season, Vardy accrued a total of 24 goals and 6 assists—a feat that has attracted interest from top teams in the world of football.


1. RIYAD MAHREZ
Born in Sarcelles, France on 21st February 1991 to an Algerian father and a Morroccan-Algerian mother, the Algerian international has a touching story; he lost his dad at age 15 and could not play professionally until 2009.
I can relate his successful career to the fact that he is a devoted and practicing Muslim.
He moved to Leicester City from Le Havre in January 2014.
Mahrez was part of the Leicester team that won seven of its final nine matches of the 2014/15 season to avoid relegation to the the second tier league—The Football League. He scored both goals in a 2:0 defeat of Southampton on 9 May and ended the season with four goals and three assists from 30 appearances.
No one would ever believe a relegation threatened club can win the premier league the following season nor believe the team would produce the PFA player of the year winner; Mahrez proved to us that anything is possible in football by scoring 17 goals last season, creating 67 chances and 11 assists; completed 746 passes with a pass accuracy of 74% of which 84% were forward passes.

CREDITS:
WIKIPEDIA
SQUAKA
UEFA official website


Kolade Chris
200 Level AEB student writes from AAUA

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